Bribery and corruption

Anti-corruption Reforms in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Countries in Eastern Europe and central Asia have introduced a number of new important anti-corruption reforms in recent years. However, corruption continues to remain high in the region. This series of reports identify progress achieved as well as remaining challenges which require further action by countries. These reports analyse three broad areas of anti-corruption work: anti-corruption policies and institutions; criminalisation of corruption and ensuring enforcement; and, measures to prevent corruption in public administration and in the business sector. The analysis is illustrated by examples of good practice from various countries and comparative cross-country data.

2013-2015 progress and challenges report

14/09/2016 - This report focuses on nine countries in the region that now participate in the OECD initiative known as the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan, namely: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Examples from other countries in the region are also presented to give a broader perspective for the analysis. The report is based on the results of the third round of monitoring of the Action Plan. It updates the information from the 2009-2013 report which summarised the results of the second round of monitoring.

2009-2013 progress and challenges report

16/08/2013 - The report focuses on eight countries in the region which participated at the time in the OECD initiative known as the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Examples from other countries in the region are also presented to give a broader perspective for the analysis. The report is based on the results of the second round of monitoring of the Action Plan. It brings new information to the 2008 report which summarised the results of the first round of monitoring.

Executive summary

Anti-corruption policies and institutions - Political will is the key to anti-corruption policy success. Political leaders in Eastern Europe and Central Asia recognise the danger of corruption and publicly commit to tackling it, but political leadership and continuous efforts are often missing when it comes to taking practical actions.

In recent years, almost all countries have developed anti-corruption strategies. They provide important guidelines for reforms, but suffer from poor implementation and often lack budgetary support.

Anti-corruption research has increased. There are numerous studies and surveysdemonstrating trends in corruption, but they are often ad-hoc and not integrated in the designing and monitoring of anti-corruption strategies. Monitoring of strategies andmeasuring their impact on the level of corruption are so far insufficient.

There are many civil society initiatives in the region, but non-governmental organisations are yet to become real partners of the governments. Governments should encourage meaningful public participation through the inclusion of NGOs in the decision-making, implementation and monitoring processes and financial support.

Institutions responsible for anti-corruptionpolicies are set up in all Istanbul Action Plan countries. The common approach is to establish inter-institutional councils for the co-ordination of anti-corruption measures. Few of these institutions are effective. In several countries corruption prevention tasks are assigned to law enforcement bodies which is not effective.

Criminalisation of corruption and law enforcement - Reform of criminal legislation is an area where all countries have achieved progress. Significant reforms were directed at introducing corporate liability for corruption. But a conservative legal doctrine remains an obstacle for full compliance with the international standards. As a result, legal gaps remain in many countries with regard to bribery and trading in influence. Provisions on confiscation need to be aligned with international standards. Statutes of limitations and immunity of certain public officials remain as obstacles for effective prosecution of corruption in several countries.

Concerning the practice of investigation and prosecution of corruption cases, countries should step up their efforts to prosecute high-profile and complex cases. They need to build up the capacity of investigators and prosecutors to use modern investigative methods and to conduct financial investigations. Legislation should be amended to allow effective access to bank, tax and customs data. International co-operation should be improved by encouraging direct co-operation between the law-enforcement bodies.

Prevention of corruption - In recent years, many countries have introduced legislative measures to promote integrity in public service. The challenge is protect professional civil servants from undue political influence through merit-based appointment and promotion, and fair and transparent remuneration. While many countries have introduced conflict of interests’ provisions, implementation remains weak. Countries have established or strengthened their asset declaration systems. However these systems usually lack a verification mechanism, do not ensure proactive publication of declarations and do not set up deterrent sanctions for false information. Several countries have introduced legislation to protect whistleblowers, but these new provisions are often weak.

Public procurement is one area where many countries have launched meaningful reforms during recent years aimed at increasing transparency and integrity. Several countries are establishing electronic procurement systems. At the same time, low capacity, lack of resources, a poor record of prosecuting corruption in the public contracts and ineffective conflict of interests’ instruments still make public procurement one of the most corrupt sectors.

All Istanbul Action Plan countries have legal framework for accessing information held by public authorities. However, most of these laws fall short of international standards. A number of countries retain provisions on criminal defamation, which have an adverse effect on investigative journalism.

Corruption in politics remains an acute problem for all countries. Provisions regulating financing of political parties and election campaigns are often not in line with international standards. They do not include necessary restrictions with regard to the sources and limits of contributions, they do not ensure transparency of party finances and adequate state monitoring and supervision, nor do they provide direct state financing of political parties. Many countries have recently conducted comprehensive reforms of the judiciary, aiming to strengthen independence and integrity, but much remains to be done to align legal frameworks with international standards. There are cases when legal safeguards are ignored in practice, when judges are dismissed contrary to tenure rules. The financial independence of courts is often undermined in practice.

Business integrity is a new issue in the region. The governments have not yet taken systematic measures to promote business integrity, and the private sector has not yet become a strong player in the fight against corruption.